' ( ar, فرض) or ' () or fardh in Islam is a religious

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

commanded by

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. The word is also used in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, Persian,

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

(''spelled farz''), and Malay (''spelled fardu or fardhu'') in the same meaning.

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

who obey such commands or duties are said to receive ''hasanat'' (), ''ajr'' () or ''thawab'' () each time for each good deed. ''Fard'' or its synonym ''wājib'' () is one of the five types of ahkam () into which

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

categorizes acts of every Muslim. The

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named ...

fiqh, however, does not consider both terms to be synonymous, and makes a distinction between ''wajib'' and ''fard'', the latter being obligatory and the former slightly lesser degree than being obligatory.

Individual duty and sufficiency

The

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

distinguishes two sorts of duties: * Individual duty or ''farḍ al-'ayn'' () relates is required to perform, such as daily prayer ('' salat''), and the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if the person can afford the journey ('' hajj''). An individual not performing this will be punished in the afterlife (but can be excused on basis of incapability), but if he enjoins and fulfils its necessity will be rewarded. * Sufficiency duty or ''farḍ al-kifāya'' () is a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (''

ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

''). The classic example for it is janaza (Funeral prayer): the individual is not required to perform it as long as a sufficient number of community members fulfill it.

References

Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Islamic terminology Sharia legal terminology Deontological ethics {{arabic-lang-stub

Individual duty and sufficiency

See also

Ahkam

Other religions

References